Lee could hear talking through the bathroom door, but couldn't make out the exact words. Not that it really mattered. What Jason had said earlier had convinced Lee that this woman was just a pushy client, but now she was seething; there was really only one reason why anyone would show up at a person's home at this time.

Dressed once more, Lee slipped out of the bathroom, grabbing her coat and boots on her way to the door. ”Have fun,” Lee said in a very disinterested tone, not even looking toward Jason or the woman as she grabbed the door knob. Then Lee was out the door, slipping her boots and coat on quickly as she made her way down the hallway.

Lee at least managed to last until she made it down to the street before the first tears of anger and hurt managed to escape her eyes. She hadn’t wanted any kind of relationship because she was sure it wouldn’t last, that it would hurt when he left, when it ended. Jason had probably figured that she’d leave after he’d fallen asleep, Lee thought as she stormed down the street angrily swiping the tears off her cheeks, that it’d be all clear for her to come over.

Jay was still lying in bed, as the woman took her sweet time leaving. In fact, not long after, Lee stormed out, looking none too pleased with him. Great. Just great. Then the door shut behind her.

"Seriously. Do you mind?" Jay hissed, motioning for the woman to leave, and she finally did. "I'll be out in a minute..." His heart was racing, and his face was flushed as he crawled out of bed and got dressed. He Then made his way to the closed door, carefully locking it. Then, he made his way to the window and out of the fire escape.

Once his feet were on solid ground again, he shifted into his German Shepherd shift. His nose was assaulted by the smells of the city, but there was one scent he was looking for. One that he was more than accustomed to by now. The blue-eyed dog padded his way down the pavement briskly. He was going to make this right.

Now that the tears had started to fall, Lee couldn't stop them. The tears continued to roll down her cheeks, her hand raising periodically to wipe them away.

Lee hadn't thought that Jason would do something like this, not with how he had been the one to push for them to try dating, to continue seeing each other. Had she been expecting too much out of it, thinking that the relationship Jason wanted with her meant that he wasn’t going to see any other women? Or had she been right when she thought that her powers, her siphoning, would be too much and Jason wouldn’t want to continue being around it?

At least he could have waited until she was actually out of his apartment before having the woman come over. Or he could have actually broken up with her before seeing someone else.

Lee was almost at her own apartment when she saw a dog running up beside her. ”Leave me alone,” Lee said as she continued walking, not looking over at the German Shepherd that had come up beside her. ”Don’t you have someone waiting for you back at your place?”

When he finally caught up to her, it didn't take Lee long to recognize his dog form. But her words cut him deep; so much so that the elicited a whine from the German Shepherd, and he paused a moment before shifting back to his human form. "If she's still there. I told her to give me a minute to get dressed, then locked her overbearing ass out in the hall," he started, biting his lip as he walked slightly behind her.

"I didn't shimmy down a fire escape just to leave you alone," he said rather firmly. "I told you; she's just an overbearing client...well, as of tomorrow I'm dropping her." He sighed, still trying to keep up with her, though that combined with the shifting was actually proving to be a hard task.

A moment after she spoke, the dog moved behind her and then she heard Jason’s voice. Apparently trying to explain away what had happened. ”Uh huh,” Lee just said with a slightly nod, taking the opportunity to wipe any remaining tears from her cheeks since Jason was behind her.

But then Jason continued speaking as she reached the door into her building. Pausing with her hand on the door handle, Lee didn’t even look over at Jason. ”And yet she’ll still be there, waiting for you, when you go home,” Lee said, staring at her hand on the door before she pulled it open.

But Lee really didn’t know what else to say. With a shake of her head, Lee pulled the door open and made her way up the stairs.

She never even looked at him, and it made his heart sink into his stomach. He swallowed as they made it to the building, and she spoke again. "Who says I planned on going home tonight?" he said, his own eyes welling up.

"I want nothing to do with her, Lee," he said biting his lip as he put a hand on her shoulder. "She was just a client, but I'm going to drop her tomorrow. I'm not working for her anymore. Not after this. Sure...I'd be giving up a lot of money," he said softly, walking behind her still. "But nothing's worth losing the woman of my dreams over." His voice was slightly shaking.

Lee swallowed when Jason alluded to the fact that he wasn't planning on going home again that night. No, he hadn't said he would be, she had just assumed he would. Why wouldn't he, Lee hadn't expected him to leave his apartment in the first place after she had walked out the door.

Then Lee felt Jason's hand in her shoulder, and she actually jumped a bit in surprise. As upset as she was, Lee was paying nowhere as close attention as she normally did to her siphoning, so she hadn't realized that Jason was quite that close. Or that he had reached his hand out.

But she was making her way up the stairs to get apartment, Jason still following. At least she was until she heard his last sentence, then she stopped dead, turning to look at him for the first time since before leaving his apartment.

”I’m…” She started, tears pricking her eyes again as she looked at Jason a couple steps below her. ”You really think that I’m...that?”

She jumped at his touch, and still wasn't looking at him. Great. But then...she kept going. Double great...

He sighed, but he kept following; he wasn't about to give up on her. No way in hell. Finally, finally she turned to look at him, and he was only a few steps below her. He stepped up so that they were practically eye to eye; thanks to the height difference.

He felt a lump catch in his throat as she spoke, and his own eyes were stinging behind his glasses. "No. I don't think you're the girl of my dreams." After a pause, he leaned in, kissing her passionately as tears began to run down his cheeks.

"I'm pretty damn sure you are," he said, looking her in the eyes.

Lee had actually been looking down on Jason as she turned to face him, only for him to climb a couple more steps to bring him eye level with her. And much closer to him.

Then he spoke, and it felt like her stomach dropped. He had just said that, hadn’t he? And yet when she questioned it, he told her no. Lee’s eyebrows drew together in confusion and frustration. Had he simply said that to get her to stop? As if the night hadn’t been bad enough already, what with that woman showing up like she had, not once but twice. But now he was tugging at her heartstrings, claiming he she was the woman of his dreams, then in the next breath saying no.

And then Jason leaned in and kissed her. Not just a short, chaste kiss on the lips, either. Lee was in shock, but apparently her body decided to react on its own, her arms lifting to wrap around Jason's neck, one hand moving to his hair as she returned the kiss.

About the time that Lee realized she was kissing Jason back, he ended the kiss. Opening her eyes, Lee saw tears on his cheeks.

When Jason opened his mouth again, Lee’s eyes immediately welled with tears again, a couple spilling over as she looked at him. ”I am?” she breathed before pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. She hadn’t even thought she’d be able to have a real relationship, and here Jason was telling her in no uncertain terms that she was the girl of his dreams. It was more than she had ever even dreamed of.

A couple more tears escaping her eyes and running down her own cheeks, Lee leaned in again, tightening her arms that were still around his neck, to kiss him again.

"Yes, you are," he murmured after the kiss broke. Her grip tightened, and she was kissing him again. He held her close, returning the kiss for a few moments. Finally, he pulled back, looking into her tear-stained eyes with his equally tear-stained ones. "I told you that ***** was just a client. I'd never dream of doing anything with her. And after tomorrow she won't even be a client anymore. I don't want anyone to come between us..."

He took a deep breath as he looked at her again. "I love you," he murmured. He moved so he was on the stair next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Care to head inside, or do you just wanna make out in the hall?" he winked before making his way up the stairs with her.

Lee smiled slightly, the tears still in her eyes, as Jason confirmed that she was the woman of his dreams. Because, even though she was smiling, she couldn’t seem to stop the tears that were sitting in her eyes, some of which were still spilling over and running down her cheeks.

As she listened to Jason speaking, Lee nodded as she moved her arms from around his neck, using her thumbs to wipe the tears away that were sitting on Jason’s cheeks. ”I don’t want anyone to, either…” Lee said as she wiped the last of his tears away.

But then Jason continued speaking, and her hands froze, her heart jumped up into her throat and she couldn’t breath. He...He lo…. Yes, he had said that she was the girl of his dreams, but had Jason really just said that?

Thankfully, Jason was moving, stepping up beside her on the stair, asking if they should go into her apartment. Trying to swallow her heart once more, Lee nodded as Jason started them up the stairs once more. At that point, it didn’t take long to get to her door. Pulling her keys out, Lee unlocked the door and made her way into the apartment. It was small, and the apartment itself wasn’t in very good condition, but the few things Lee had there were in good, if very well worn, shape.

Walking through the small kitchenette that was right inside the door, Lee walked over to the closet, hanging her coat up and taking her boots off as she wondered what she was supposed to say to Jason. You were supposed to say something when you were told that, right? She loved spending time with him, it was better than she would have even imagined, but was she in love with him? She hadn’t even really cared about anyone in almost 20 years, how was she supposed to know if what she was feeling was love?

Turning, Lee swallowed the lump that was still in her throat as she looked over at Jason. ”It’s really not much,” she said with a slight shrug. ”But the couch is comfy, and I think I’ve got some beer in the fridge.”

He smiled gently, wiping her tears in return before brushing her hair out of her face. "Well then it's settled," he said softly, "Nothing, or no one is coming between us," he gave her a wink as they walked the rest of the way to the apartment, and once inside, he noticed...it wasn't exactly a good place to live. 'Not much?' This place should probably be condemned...

He nodded as she spoke, but made his way to the couch--he hadn't brought his jacket because he'd planned on spending most of the time in shift anyway, and dogs had fur to keep them warm. He bit his lip, thinking about what he should say--how he should address this as he sat down, adjusting his glasses as he thought.

"You know...I can possibly help you get a better place, if you want," he offered. "I mean...with all due respect...this one kinda seems to be....falling apart. Unsafe. I understand that the city's expensive and all, but...I really can help if you want it," he said softly, gently. He noticed he didn't answer his 'I love you,' and though he was only recently realizing that he did in fact love her--at least, he thought that was love--he also recognized that actions spoke louder than words in most cases.

Lee smiled slightly as she felt Jason’s hands on her cheeks, wiping her tears away. Lee couldn’t help the smile, What Jason was saying now made her feel so much better than anything he had said earlier that night. She hadn’t realized that she was still worried about Jason leaving until the woman had shown up. But this, everything that they had said in the stairwell...It made Lee feel so much more secure, safe than Jason’s words earlier in the night had.

Made her feel loved.

Seeing Jason heading to the couch, Lee took a look in the fridge. Sure enough, there were a couple of beers there, which Lee grabbed before making her way to the couch to sit beside Jason. Just in time to hear him offer to help her find somewhere else to live. ”Thanks, but you don’t need to,” Lee said, handing one of the bottles to Jason. “I’m generally only here to sleep. Plus, I can’t exactly afford much more than this place, anyway.”

He watched as she grabbed a couple of beers and made her way back over to him. "I know I don't need to," he said softly, his eyes meeting hers with a soft smile. "I want to help, even if it is just for sleeping."

He really wanted to do something for her, not only to make up for earlier, but to show her how he felt for her instead of just telling her. But he wasn't sure how she'd react, though...what did he have to lose, right? After a moment of silence, he looked at her. "You'd always be welcome to move in with me," he said, not making eye contact as he spoke, unsure of how she'd react.

After a long pause, he looked back over. "Or we could find a new place, together..."

Lee smiled as her eyes dropped down to look at the bottle in her hands. Jason wanted to help her find a new place to live, somewhere that was in better shape than where she currently lived, even if she really only slept and stored her things there. That was...well, Lee just smiled slightly wider as she tried to figure out what to say to that.

Though that smile instantly disappeared when she heard Jason’s next suggestion. ”No.” Lee said almost instantly, her eyes widening in shock and horror. There was no way that she could move in with him. He didn’t even have a separate bedroom, which almost made it awkward as it was the times that she was over there and he fell asleep. But that was just it, where could she sleep at his place? There was no way she could actually sleep in the same bed as him; even if they somehow managed to keep their hands off each other long enough that her energy was low enough to be able to fall asleep, the idea of being that close to someone, for that long, unconscious...it terrified Lee.

As Lee heard Jason’s voice again after a very long pause, Lee shook her head, but still didn’t look over at Jason, her eyes were focused on her bottle of beer. ”Sorry,” she whispered. ”It has nothing to do with you. Or with how I feel about you. It’s me…”

Lee stopped speaking, biting her lip as she took a deep breath. Then she finally glanced over at Jason, a crease between her brows. ”I’m scared to even think about what might happen…”